Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that occurs mostly in rainforest countries of central and western Africa. The disease produces pox lesions on the skin and is closely related to smallpox but not nearly as deadly. It got its name because it was first discovered in the year 1958 in laboratory monkeys. It was later recovered from an African squirrel which was then thought to be the natural host. Later blood tests found that in Africa, monkeys weren't the only animals that can be affected with the monkeypox virus. Rats, mice, prairie dogs and rabbits may also become infected. Monkeypox is less severe than smallpox and can sometimes be confused with chickenpox, but is rarely fatal. Monkeypox was reported in humans for the first time in 1970. It seems partly preventable with smallpox vaccination, but vaccination programs were discontinued in the late 1970s. Monkeypox is also classified as a zoonosis, which means that it is a disease of animals that can be transmitted to humans under natural conditions. The first cases of monkeypox reported in humans involved contact between humans and animals in the African rain forest.
A child infected with the Monkeypox virus in Africa
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that occurs mostly in rainforest countries of central and western Africa. The disease produces pox lesions on the skin and is closely related to smallpox but not nearly as deadly. It got its name because it was first discovered in the year 1958 in laboratory monkeys. It was later recovered from an African squirrel which was then thought to be the natural host. Later blood tests found that in Africa, monkeys weren't the only animals that can be affected with the monkeypox virus. Rats, mice, prairie dogs and rabbits may also become infected. Monkeypox is less severe than smallpox and can sometimes be confused with chickenpox, but is rarely fatal. Monkeypox was reported in humans for the first time in 1970. It seems partly preventable with smallpox vaccination, but vaccination programs were discontinued in the late 1970s. Monkeypox is also classified as a zoonosis, which means that it is a disease of animals that can be transmitted to humans under natural conditions. The first cases of monkeypox reported in humans involved contact between humans and animals in the African rain forest.